You know the moment. Somebody swings with a lifelink creature. Somebody else blocks. Life totals change. And then, like clockwork, the table turns into a courtroom drama where everyone suddenly “remembers” the rules differently.
“Wait—do you gain the life right away?”
“Can i respond to lifelink?”
“If i hit you to zero, don’t you die before you gain life?”
Lifelink is one of those MTG mechanics that feels obvious… until you’re losing and need it not to be. So let’s make it boring again. In a good way.
MTG Lifelink Rules in Plain English (and Why It Doesn’t Use the Stack)
Here’s the core idea:
Lifelink is a static ability that changes what damage does. When a source with lifelink deals damage, its controller gains that much life at the same time the damage happens.
Not after. Not “when it resolves.” Not “when the trigger goes on the stack.”
Because lifelink isn’t a triggered ability.
A few important details people miss:
- It works with any damage, not just combat damage. If you give lifelink to a creature that pings, or a spell that deals damage, you gain life from that damage.
- It works no matter what zone the damage comes from. So yes, weird edge cases exist, and yes, the rules already planned for them. (Somebody in R&D has suffered so you don’t have to.)
A simple example:
- Your 3/3 with lifelink hits me for 3.
- I lose 3 life from damage.
- You gain 3 life from lifelink.
- Those happen together.
That “together” part is the whole trick.
Damage vs Life Loss vs Paying Life (The MTG Lifelink Confusion Factory)
If you want to understand lifelink cleanly, stop treating these as the same thing:
Damage
Damage is an event. Things deal damage to players and permanents.
Life loss
Life loss is a result that can happen because of damage, but it can also happen because a card literally says “lose life.”
So:
- Damage often causes life loss.
- Not all life loss is damage.
Paying life
Paying life is a cost. It’s not damage, and it’s not “being dealt” anything. You’re choosing to spend life to do something.
Why this matters for lifelink:
- Lifelink cares about damage.
If your card says “target opponent loses 3 life,” lifelink doesn’t magically hook into it. No damage happened. - Prevention effects care about damage.
If damage gets prevented, lifelink doesn’t happen, because… there was no damage. - Some damage doesn’t cause life loss.
Infect is the classic example. Infect changes what damage does to a player (poison counters instead of life loss). But lifelink still keys off the damage event itself.
A quick mental shortcut:
- If it says damage, lifelink can matter.
- If it says loses life or pay life, lifelink doesn’t help.
Timing: Lifelink, Lethal Damage, and State-Based Actions
Most arguments about lifelink are really arguments about “when you die.”
MTG doesn’t constantly check if you’re dead like a video game health bar. It checks at specific times using state-based actions (SBAs). SBAs are handled automatically, and they happen before players get priority.
So the flow looks like this:
- Damage happens (combat or noncombat).
- If the source has lifelink, life gain happens with the damage.
- Then the game checks SBAs (including “is a player at 0 or less life?”).
- Then players get priority and triggered abilities go on the stack.
This is why lifelink can “save you from lethal” in some spots.
Example:
- You’re at 3 life.
- I attack you with a 3/3.
- You block with a 3/3 lifelink creature.
- Combat damage happens: both creatures deal 3 to each other.
- You gain 3 life at the same time that damage happens.
- Then SBAs check the results.
You don’t “hit 0 and die mid-damage.” That’s not how the game processes it.
One more nuance that’s useful:
- Triggered abilities that care about lifegain (like “whenever you gain life…”) don’t interrupt this. They wait and go on the stack the next time players would get priority.
So yes, you gain the life immediately. No, you don’t immediately get your “whenever you gain life” trigger resolving in the middle of combat damage. MTG refuses to be that convenient.
Common Lifelink Interactions: Trample, First Strike, Double Strike, Deathtouch
This is the section that stops the “okay but what about…” spiral. Let’s just hit the hits.
Trample + lifelink
If your creature has trample and lifelink, you gain life equal to all the damage it actually deals.
That includes:
- damage assigned to blockers, and
- “overflow” damage that tramples to the player (or planeswalker, if that’s what’s being attacked)
So if your 6/6 trample lifelink gets blocked by a 2/2 and you assign lethal (2) to the blocker and 4 to the player:
- you gain 6 life (assuming no prevention shenanigans)
The only catch is the usual trample rule: you have to assign lethal to the blocker(s) before you can send the rest through.
First strike / double strike + lifelink
First strike and double strike mess with the combat damage step.
- First strike means damage happens in the first combat damage step.
- Double strike means damage happens in the first strike step and the normal damage step (if the creature is still around and able to deal damage).
With lifelink:
- If your creature deals damage in two separate combat damage steps, you gain life each time it deals damage.
So yes, double strike lifelink can create disgusting life swings. This is why some decks feel like they’re playing a different format.
Deathtouch + trample + lifelink
This one is famous because it feels like cheating, and it kind of is (rules-legal cheating, the best kind).
Deathtouch changes what “lethal damage” means for combat damage assignment. With deathtouch, 1 damage is lethal for most creatures.
So a big creature with deathtouch + trample can often assign:
- 1 damage to each blocker (to satisfy “lethal”), then
- the rest to the defending player
And if it also has lifelink, you gain life equal to the total damage dealt.
No, your opponent doesn’t have to like it. They should’ve brought removal like the rest of us.
Does lifelink work on planeswalkers and battles?
Yes. Lifelink isn’t picky about what you damage. It cares that your source dealt damage, period.
If your lifelink creature hits:
- a player,
- a creature,
- a planeswalker,
- or a battle,
…you gain that much life from the damage dealt.
Multiple lifelink sources at once
If multiple things with lifelink deal damage (say, two attackers connect), you gain life from each damage event.
This matters a lot for lifegain payoffs:
- “whenever you gain life” triggers
- “whenever you gain life for the first time each turn” triggers
- “put that many +1/+1 counters…” triggers
You don’t “combine lifelink into one big trigger.” Again: not a trigger.
“You can’t gain life”
If an effect says you can’t gain life, lifelink doesn’t sneak around it.
Damage still happens. Lifelink still wants to gain you life. But the “can’t” wins.
The weird one: the source leaves play
Sometimes an effect causes an object to deal damage even if it changes zones first. In those cases, the game can use the object’s last known information to figure out whether it had lifelink when it dealt the damage.
Most players never need this. But if your group contains that one person who lives for edge cases, now you know the phrase “last known information” and you can watch their eyes light up. You’re welcome.
Using Lifelink in Decks (and How to Beat It)
Lifelink isn’t complicated because the rules are hard. It’s complicated because lifelink changes the math.
Why lifelink is strong
- It stabilizes you when you’re behind.
- It makes racing awkward because your opponent’s attacks can turn into your life gain.
- It turns “small hits” into real advantage over multiple turns.
- It makes life a resource again (especially in black/white shells).
It’s also a clean way to power up “whenever you gain life” payoffs. Stuff like:
- growing creatures via +1/+1 counters,
- drain effects that turn lifegain into damage,
- alternate win lines that care about high life totals
How to beat lifelink
You don’t beat lifelink by “having more lifelink.” That’s a trap. (A funny one, but still a trap.)
Instead:
- Remove the source before it deals damage (the classic answer for a reason).
- Go around it with evasion (flying, menace, unblockable).
- Go wider so one blocker doesn’t stabilize everything.
- Stop life gain with “can’t gain life” effects.
- Win in a way lifelink doesn’t care about.
In Commander, that includes commander damage. You can be at 200 life and still lose if you’ve taken enough commander combat damage from the same commander over the game.
Lifelink is a life total tool. Not an immortality button. Sadly.
MTG Lifelink FAQ (the stuff people actually google)
Does lifelink work on noncombat damage?
Yes. Any time a source with lifelink deals damage—combat or not—you gain that much life.
Does lifelink use the stack? Can i respond to it?
No. Lifelink is a static ability. You can respond to the spell or ability before damage happens, but you can’t respond to the lifegain “part” separately.
If i go to 0 life, do i lose before lifelink gains me life?
Usually, no. Lifelink life gain happens at the same time as damage. The game checks state-based actions after damage is dealt.
Does lifelink work with trample?
Yes. You gain life equal to the total damage dealt, including trample damage that gets through.
Does double strike mean i gain life twice?
If your creature deals damage in both combat damage steps, yes. You gain life each time it deals damage.
Is “lose life” the same as damage?
No. Damage often causes life loss, but “lose life” effects aren’t damage. Lifelink only cares about damage.
If i can’t gain life, does lifelink do anything?
The damage still happens, but the lifegain won’t.
Conclusion
If you remember nothing else, remember this:
- Lifelink is not a trigger.
- It happens with damage, not after.
- Damage and life loss aren’t the same thing.
- State-based actions are when the game checks if you’re dead.
That’s it. That’s the whole mechanic. Everything else is just MTG doing what it does best: taking one simple sentence and turning it into 200 pages of “well technically…”
Next time the table starts debating lifelink timing, you can either explain it calmly… or you can just smile and say, “we can check the Comp Rules if you want.” Same effect. More fear.
References
- Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules (effective Nov 14, 2025) — rules for lifelink (702.15), damage results (120.3), life gain/life loss (119), trample (702.19), first strike/double strike combat damage steps (702.7 / 702.4), state-based actions (704), and timing/priority (117). Wizards Media
